Thai bht

[aot871]

Does any know why the thai bht , is so strong at the moment , Im arriving on friday for 2 weeks and I see according to the Bangkok bank website the ┬г is trading at below 48 , also I note the $ is trading low as webb

[Mancs]

I think it's more the ┬г is weak. Superrich is quoting 48.20 right now and is the best place I know to change money.

[aot871]

Where is superrich I hope not in bkk , as im only going to Pattaya

[dab69]

I believe the Thai baht is pegged to the US$, which is unfortunately high
for some reason in comparison to other currency.

[Smiles]

I believe the Thai baht is pegged to the US$, which is unfortunately high
for some reason in comparison to other currency.
Dab, I am quite a dumb head when it comes to currency rates and markets in general. (The stock market, which I dabble in often, is simplicity itself in comparison to the World o' Forex).

How is a currency 'pegged' or, the opposite, NOT pegged?
What are the reasons and mechanics to get this done, or not done?
Why would a country 'peg' it's currency to a foreign entity? Or, why would it not?

Could you (anyone!) help me/(perhaps us) with this arcane dark area of global finance?

Where is superrich I hope not in bkk , as im only going to PattayaHave I got a surprise for you, aot871. There's this big new idea on the Interweb called the search engine. The most popular is called "Google". If you head to http://www.google.com and type "superrich pattaya" into the Search box,it will show you the answer.

[Mancs]

I don't know Pattaya very well but google doesn't seem to know of a Superrich there. The rate at the airport is always poor so I suggest only changing the minimum there, then comparing rates and asking around for the best place in Pattaya.

[Mancs]

As for why peg a currency to the dollar it gives it more stability and may make it more trustable as this describes:

"One reason that countries started pegging their currency to the US dollar was that in the 1990's, people didn't think that the US Congress and Fed would inflate away debts. If you are the President of North Elbonia, and you issue debt to bankers, and that debt is denominated in North Elbonian Francs, then someone might rightly ask why they should trust you to not issue a ton of North Elbonian Francs in the future. And you won't have a good answer, especially if in fact you did that in the 1980's. So setting things up so that North Elbonian Francs are pegged to the US dollar, gives you some confidence that you won't inflate away the NEF, and presumably that makes it easier for people to loan you money."

[Up2U]

The baht is not pegged to the dollar and hasn't been since the mid 90's. The dollar index has been strong for the year and forecast to remain so although some slippage in the few weeks. Important because oil is traded in dollars. The dollar index is measured against the Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, Swedish kroner, Euro, Japanese yen and British pound. The baht is fx traded and remains strong but hopefully for not too long. A little over a year ago the dollar was trading at 28 and I wasn't a happy camper.

[egel]

I don't know Pattaya very well but google doesn't seem to know of a Superrich there. The rate at the airport is always poor so I suggest only changing the minimum there, then comparing rates and asking around for the best place in Pattaya.

No Superrich in Pattaya that I know of.

The best place to change ┬г to Bts is the Yellow coloured banks/change offices between Boyztown and Pattaya South Road. Cant remember the names.
There are two branches, virtually opposite each other, on 2nd Road about 50 metres from BT in the direction of South Road.

[Halfhansum]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJHNK9Ns8sw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJHNK9Ns8sw)

[anonone]

I don't know Pattaya very well but google doesn't seem to know of a Superrich there. The rate at the airport is always poor so I suggest only changing the minimum there, then comparing rates and asking around for the best place in Pattaya.

No Superrich in Pattaya that I know of.

The best place to change ┬г to Bts is the Yellow coloured banks/change offices between Boyztown and Pattaya South Road. Cant remember the names.
There are two branches, virtually opposite each other, on 2nd Road about 50 metres from BT in the direction of South Road.

They are called T&T, their logo is 2 letter T's superimposed on top of each other.

I agree they are the best place to exchange money in Pattaya. I have checked rates at all the places when walking from Moasaik down to their shops and no one matched their rate -always the best.

Seems the places inside TukCom have very bad rates, at least from a casual review. FYI

[fountainhall]

How is a currency 'pegged' or, the opposite, NOT pegged?
What are the reasons and mechanics to get this done, or not done?
Why would a country 'peg' it's currency to a foreign entity? Or, why would it not?
I'm not sure there's an easy answer!

No idea about Thailand since the peg to the US$ collapsed on July 2 1997. As I recall, it occurred then because the Thai authorities had to keep interest rates high because too many businesses had borrowed huge amounts in overseas currencies with much lower interest rates. As long as the rate remained at US1 = Bt. 25, borrowers could always swap currencies with relative ease. In 1996 the speculators entered the fray. They realised the Baht was overvalued and the Thais could not maintain the peg rate unless interest rates went through the roof. So as the speculators sold, the Thai government had to buy to maintain equilibrium. By Spring 1997, many pundits were predicting the Baht had to be devalued - meaning all those with borrowings in US$s. ┬гs, тВмs etc. would be holding massively higher debt. Since the big players were cronies with many in government, the Thais held out as long as possible. Once they had spent all the country's foreign exchange reserves propping up the Baht, the inevitable crash came. By January 1998, the Baht had lost half its value. Virtually the same happened in several European countries in 2008.

Another case is Hong Kong. A huge recession occurred in 1983 as Margaret Thatcher was falling down steps in Beijing trying to persuade Deng Xiao-ping that the British should keep Hong Kong's administration after 1997. Deng was never going to agree but Thatcher thought she had a chance. The more she said she would not back down (despite Britain having no legal claim whatever to most of the territory after June 30 1997), the more panic spread throughout Hong Kong's investment and banking communities. One bank collapsed and the Hong Kong dollar was on the slide losing close to 40% of its value.

In October 1983, the HK government stopped the rot and pegged the local currency to the US$ at the rate of HK$7.8 = ┬г1. The aim was to introduce stability into the market. It has remained at that rate ever since. It works because for every HK$7.8 issued, the government keeps an equivalent US$1 in an exchange fund. Since Hong Kong then had foreign exchange reserves of over US$90 billion (now they stand around US$332 billion!), some of that being kept in an exchange fund is peanuts.

During the Asian Economic crisis, though, after successfully achieving a devaluation of the New Taiwan dollar, the speculators turned their attentions to the HK$. The aim was to sell as many HK$s as they could by shorting the currency. But with the reserve fund holding 7 times the actual value of the currency, their chances of success were almost zero. So they turned their attention on the HK Stock Market, shorting stocks like crazy and forcing prices way down. One of the most prudent financial managers in the region, Hong Kong's monetary authority with government backing announced it would start using public money to buy up as many stocks as were being sold. On the first day it bought the equivalent of US$$383 million in local stocks. Within days it had spent US$15 billion. A huge amount, but all the speculators fled having incurred very substantial losses.

Having bought those stocks at a very low price, the government eventually had a stock portfolio which was rising rapidly in value. By April 2001, the financial secretary was able to announce profits on those stock purchases of US$14.1 billion - and it continues to grow.

Whilst the action saved a complete collapse of the HK stock market, it's interesting that many international economists were appalled that Hong Kong's reputation as the world's freest economy had been not just tarnished, but trashed. Milton Friedman, the doyen of free market economics, called the actions of the Hong Kong government тАЬinsaneтАЭ! Same as those who called the bailout of US companies after 2008 insane! Funny how that kind of insanity can produce nice profits for governments!

[goji]

The original post questioned why the GBP was looking weak against the THB.

Well, just look at some of the idiots who might hold the balance of power in the UK after the election next month. There is the answer.

[fountainhall]

WIth reports yesterday of an oil find in the south east of England that could yield up to 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil, it would be reasonable to expect sterling to get a little excited for a while!

http://www.theguardian.com/business/201 ... els-of-oil (http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/09/west-sussex-oilfield-could-produce-50-to-100m-barrels-of-oil)

[frequentfliers]

34.7 baht to the euro today is prohibitive.I got 43 in october last and 49 some months earlier.
I have booked my flight for june and it is looking like an expensive visit..

[lego]

If it were prohibitive, it would prohibit you from visiting. Then there would be no visit of yours and therefor it wouldn't be expensive. If you get my drift. :P

[Halfhansum]

Down to 46.5 to the pound now ...
Not looking good ....